A person recovering from addiction is always greatly helped during group therapy sessions. Group therapy sessions are lifelines that provide a sense of community and solid support. This is why it is important for counselors to know strategies for facilitating effective substance abuse group sessions. Every single help counts for someone recovering from addiction. The following strategies will greatly help someone recovering from addiction during group therapy sessions:
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Technique # 1: Open-Ended Questions
You can significantly improve your group therapy sessions by using open-ended questions. Open-ended questions are ones that cannot be answered by a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Use questions that invite participants to give more information. Such can lead to deeper discussions. You will be able to effectively reach out and get to know each participant more if they will share more insights and experiences. Such can only take place if you ask engaging open-ended questions.
How to do it?
Instead of asking each participant with, “Was your week good?” you could ask, “Can you share something challenging or positive that occurred last week?”
Technique # 2: Active Listening
As a facilitator, you will need to fully concentrate during group therapy. Fully concentrating will allow you to truly listen in an active manner. When you actively listen, you will get to truly understand an individual. This will in turn allow you to respond in a compassionate and enlightening way. You will also be able to easily remember or recall what a person is saying. Active listening is so much more than just hearing. It will require you to be truly engaged and present. You can practice active listening even when you’re not facilitating a group therapy session.
How to do it?
A facilitator who is actively listening will get to ask this question if an individual is struggling while sharing, “It seems that you’re feeling overwhelmed right now. Can you share more on what led you to feel this way?”
Technique # 3: Psychoeducation
You need to be the reasoned and educated voice to all the participants in your group therapy session. You always need to provide scientific information about the true nature of addiction. You need to inform each participant on how addiction affects the body and the brain. You also need to explain the recovery process and put every situation in its proper context with recovery as a backdrop.
How to do it?
You should never miss a chance to explain how addiction can affect neurotransmitters. Every participant must also know the stages of withdrawal. Such information will allow them to fully understand what they are going through and what they can do about it. It will empower them. It will let them know that they, in truth and in fact, can do something about it.
Technique # 4: Mindfulness and Relaxation
You should also never miss a chance to introduce practices that can help each participant to be mindful and present. You can introduce meditation, deep breathing, and progressive muscle relaxation.
How to do it?
You can lead a brief mindful exercise where each participant gets to focus on their breathing. This will allow them to be fully present and in the moment.
Technique # 5: Cognitive-Behavioral Techniques
As a facilitator, you can lead every discussion by actively engaging with participants in such a way that they get to focus and identify negative thought patterns and behaviors. These negative thought patterns and behaviors are the very things that lead to their addiction. When they get to identify these, it becomes ever easier to promote positive changes that lead to positive behaviors away from doing anything related to substance abuse.
How to do it?
Participants who say, “I can’t do this” can be talked to gently, and positive affirmations can be suggested.
Technique # 6: Role-Playing
This strategy will allow you to enact certain scenarios with participants. This will allow them to envision how they will act. This will allow them to improve their skills in handling difficult and challenging situations. This is a powerful practice that can help individuals to say no to using substances.
How to do it?
You can pair participants and have them reenact a situation where one gets offered a substance. The person being offered to should practice assertiveness in refusing. This should be done the other way around.
Technique # 7: Goal Setting
You should help each participant to set realistic short-term and long-term goals. These goals should be related and integrated with their recovery journey.
How to do it?
It could be as simple as making each participant commit to attending a certain number of group therapy sessions per month. A realistic goal-setting should always include time as an important factor. Always remember that a goal without a deadline or a demarcated timeline is but a dream.
Technique # 8: Milestone Celebrations
Celebrating milestones should be normalized. This is important and should never be skipped because it is the best way to boost each participant’s self-confidence and self-esteem. People recovering from addiction have already been through too much. Recovery is even exhausting and challenging in itself. This is why it’s important to never miss a chance to highlight achievements ––– however small or miniscule they may be. A small win is still a win.
How to do it?
Celebrate the number of sober days. Personal milestones should also be highlighted. Completing a treatment phase must also be recognized.
Reference:
Groups and Substance Abuse Treatment